Knowledge and Awareness of Needle Stick Injuries among Dental Healthcare Providers

Abstract

Background and Aims Needle stick injuries NSI or accidental needle cuts are very common among healthcare providers. These occupational accidents could be a gateway to serious and potentially lethal infectious diseases. According to World Health Organization WHO healthcare workers HCW experience an average of 1-9 needle cuts per year. However in many instances these incidents go unreported or overlooked by healthcare providers leading to serious health hazard. Hence the present study was conducted to quantify the approach and assess the knowledge and awareness of accidental needle cuts among the dental healthcare providers of our institution.Methodology A cross-sectional observational study was conducted amongst healthcare providers at a dental college. A predesigned three segment questionnaire which assessed knowledge and awareness about accidental needle cuts and its management was the tool for data collection. The data collected were tabulated analyzed statistically and results were calculated based on frequency and percentages using SPSS.Results Among the total 160 participants overall knowledge scores revealed high knowledge of which dental faculties and postgraduate students demonstrated the highest knowledge scores mean score 14.9. The knowledge regarding accidental needle cuts 87.7 was more compared to post exposure protocol 86.2 and disposal of sharps 79.8.Conclusion Our study revealed that dental healthcare providers in the institution were more knowledgeable about the accidental needle cuts and use of preventive measures compared to the disposal of sharps.